The present invention relates generally to dissemination of air travel information, and more particularly, to a system and method for selecting, compiling, retrieving, and displaying computer stored air travel information data.
Aviation service providers plan and execute air travel trips for clients by making arrangements with vendors who provide facilities and services necessary to carryout a trip. The provider typically receives from a client a request for specific services relating to a specific air travel trip along with the basic trip plan, including starting and ending points and schedule requirements. The provider must then create a comprehensive trip plan that includes arrangements with various vendors for a wide variety of services both for the aviator and for travelers. A comprehensive service package could include arrangements for airport landing space, fueling, ground transportation, security personnel, hotel accommodations and the like. To keep track of and manage the elements of the services package, providers have used various commercially available software packages and relational databases that enable the provider to organize and store data relating to the elements of the air travel trip. Those packages are generally static information storage and retrieval systems. An improvement on those static systems is disclosed and claimed in the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,353,794 (application Ser. No. 09/421,167) entitled Air Travel Information and Computer Data Compilation, Retrieval and Display Method and System, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The Air Travel Information System includes a system and method that provides an air traveler, dispatcher, or vendor with direct access to a multiplicity of trip details, as they happen in real-time through a series of user friendly, well organized screen displays. The efficiency of the System in responding to customer concerns or changes is improved by providing a communication channel that incorporates customer supplied information into the Air Travel System. The invention disclosed and claimed in this application addresses that efficiency need by adding to the System an integrated, dynamic communications function that enables making changes to arrangements in response to changes in client needs or other factors affecting the comprehensive trip plan.
A system, method, and computer program is disclosed for managing integrated real-time information about air flight trips, making that information available to multiple users in real time with a communication channel integrated with the information system for incorporating information received from remote users into the System. A plurality of user interfaces are provided for displaying a plurality of types of information about real time progress of the at least one trip as planned by an operational center.
The present invention thus provides and manages integrated real-time flight information for multiple authorized users, dispatchers, vendors, and clients. With the help of a computer, a handheld device, or any similar computing device that can access a website, a remote user can log into a network based data service and have direct access to view trip plans and details as they happen in real-time. Information about airport, computerized flight plans, aircraft location customized weather maps, historical data, billing information, and the like, are all available at the fingertip of the users. Relevant users can access needed information pertaining to one or more scheduled, in progress, or completed flights for which they are responsible, at any time, in any place, by using a dial-up connection service or an Internet connection. In this way, critical information is available through the access connection about the status of all flight-related factors such as customs, permits, catering, ground transportation, slots, and flight plans at close to animation speeds. Remote users can provide in context feedback that is incorporated into the real time information database.